Shea turned to him with a question, the words going unspoken as his lips crashed down on hers. Passion rose like an inferno between them, the heated conflagration catching her in its grip and sweeping away anything else.
Their kiss was tinged with desperation, the very real awareness of how close they’d come to losing everything. It consumed them in one gulp.
Shea caught fire, forgetting the world and their situation as she became obsessed with the press of his lips against hers, his rough hands pulling her close as he pressed his length against hers.
It took little more than a hop and she was up, her legs around his waist, her hands tangled in his hair, his palms supporting her ass as he backed her into a wall, pressing all of him against her.
He rolled his hips against hers, the length of him sliding against her core as he used the friction of their clothes to press against just the right spot. A throaty moan escaped her. He felt so good, all the better for the danger they’d just survived, the adrenaline in her system heightening every sensation.
Neither of them gave any thought to anything else, each consumed with crawling as deep into the other as they could, reassuring themselves in the most primal way possible of the other’s safety and life.
With her back hard against the wall, his hand slid from her ass to between them, busying itself with the laces of her pants before diving in and pressing against the wet heat of her.
Shea’s hands clenched in Fallon’s hair as warmth spread from her core. He buried his face against her neck, the stubble on his jaw rasping against the delicate skin as kissed her neck. The sensation spiraled deeper as he plunged two fingers into her, his thumb flicking her clitoris in a way that made her breath catch in her throat.
She pushed her hips towards him, needing his touch more than she needed her next breath. Her insides tightened and she panted. She was so close.
He hit a spot deep inside that sent everything tightening further, before propelling her off a cliff of sensation. He swallowed her moans as his lips came back to hers. He moved quickly, whipping her pants off before undoing his own.
Then he was sliding into her in a rough glide and a muffled groan. He set a rhythm that saw her building toward climax again, reaching for that life-affirming splendor. There was no time to play as they usually did. No sweet coupling. It was raw and dangerous, their need for each other almost terrifying in its intensity.
She threw her head back as she came, her back bowing. He pumped into her several times more before he followed her, claiming her lips with his own.
They remained like that for several moments afterward, locked in an embrace as their breathing came back to normal and their hearts settled.
Her legs slipped down his sides and she stood there feeling like every drop of anxiety and fear had been wrung from her, along with all emotion.
He lifted his head and their eyes met, their gazes clinging.
She placed one hand on his cheek and gave him a bittersweet smile. His hand came up to cup hers as he lifted it and pressed a kiss to her fingers before stepping back to stride—as naked as you please—to the bathing area.
Shea watched him go with slumberous eyes, grabbing a robe sitting on the end of their bed and following him.
The water turned on and moments later she could hear splashing. She crossed the cold floor and rounded the privacy screen. She leaned against the wall before the tub and folded her arms across her chest as she watched Fallon bathe.
Her gaze settled on where the skin along his ribs was just starting to darken with the beginning of a bruise. She stepped closer and rested her hand against the small spot. Someone had gotten close, at least enough to leave a bruise.
She sighed, the sound heavy and sad. His hand came up to clasp hers as he held her hand to his side, a question in his eyes.
She looked up at him. “It’s Griffin. He’s the one responsible for all this.”
Fallon’s face turned pensive as thoughts moved behind his eyes. “I thought you said he was dead.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know how, but he somehow survived. I don’t know how to explain it. He’s changed, but not in any way that I understand.”
Fallon seemed lost in thought as she waited for his response. She was half braced for his blame. It was unlikely Griffin would have targeted the Trateri if not for her presence. She waited for him to realize that.
A frown took over his face and he tugged Shea into the water with him. She landed with a splash, her legs getting tangled in her robe.
“You do not look at me that way,” he ordered her, his voice a fierce rumble over her head. “You don’t look at me like you’re waiting for me to cast you out or blame you for things beyond your control. He’s chosen his path. Him and no one else. Just like those pathfinders I killed today. No one forced them to act stupid. They did it all on their own.”
Shea had tensed against him, but at his words she relaxed, her head resting on his chest as the water soaked into her robe. Sensing her mood had shifted, Fallon’s hands brushed along her back in a soothing caress.
“You and my father seem to be getting along rather well,” Shea observed.
He grunted. “Yes, there’s nothing to bond a father and his daughter’s lover like killing a common enemy.”
In an innocent voice, she asked, “Did you have fun hunting?”
